MRI and A-R-I

As I said in my previous entry, I got my MRI results at my doctor's appointment yesterday, and everything came back normal. (*insert jokes about my brain being "normal"*) Well, except for the fact that there's a touch of sinusitis in my left sinus (no shock there, since it's allergy season) and the bone behind my right ear appears to be slightly inflamed. But since I'm having no pain or symptoms there, my doctor brushed it off. Of course, I'm sure that now I will start imagining all sorts of odd sensations back there. Ahh, the life of a hypochondriac. As far as the rest of the physical, it was all pretty routine. My cholesterol is spectacular, and though my bloodwork showed I have a low blood count, my iron levels and other related things were fine. She wants me to have bloodwork done again in about a month, just to make sure everything is OK. I am one big medical mystery, I guess. Oh, and I also got to have a tetanus shot, which left my arm feeling just fantastic for the rest of the day.

On to the Ari update... I don't think I've written about this before, but if I have, tough luck. She has learned to play peekaboo--in other words, she initiates the game herself. Sometimes she does it at home by hiding behind the vertical blinds by our sliding glass doors (she fits back there perfectly), and sometimes she does it in the car when she gets bored. She says, "Where's Ari?" (though it comes out more like "Uh Ahh-ee?") and waits happily for us to repeat it. Then she'll usually remain hidden (or, if we're in the car, keep her hands over her face) for far too long afterwards. She doesn't quite get that when we say "Where's Ari?", she's supposed to appear and/or yell "Peekaboo!" We'll get there.

She climbed into my lap while I was on the computer the other day, sweetly demanding "movie." I headed on over to YouTube for our 2 "favorites"--They Might Be Giant's "Birdhouse in Your Soul" (she's very excited about the bikes in the video right now) and that Muppet "Mahna, Mahna" song. When we watched the Muppet one, she started singing along--with a high-pitched, melodic "Doo doo" and a slightly-growly "m'na, m'na." And even now, a few days later, if we sing, "Doo doo doo-doo-doo" to her, she'll grin this almost-shy little grin and reply "m'na, m'na," waiting for us to laugh our approval. (Note to self: must get this on video.)

When I had Ari fill out Tony's Father's Day card on Tuesday (yes, I know Father's Day was Sunday--shut up), I got her set up at the coffee table with the card, the envelope, and the first 3 markers I could find. I expected random scribbling, and was ready to jump in should she decide to start coloring the table or her clothes, but she surprised me with how seriously she took it. She chose the orange marker first, and made a giant, but careful scribble on the envelope. Then she solemnly handed the marker to me, took the brown one, and proceeded to color on the little spots of design inside the card, as though she understood the idea of coloring inside lines (notice I said the "idea"--she's not all that great at actually staying inside any lines). I expected I would have to force her to stop coloring at some point (since we were on our way out the door), but she surprised me once again a couple minutes later by methodically handing me each marker, then the card, then then envelope, signaling that she was done.